First Washington Duke Scholars prepare to join Class of 2020

In just under three months, Duke University’s first incoming class of Washington Duke Scholars will arrive on campus.

The Washington Duke Scholars program seeks to better support first-generation college students as they transition into college life by providing scholars with financial aid, a 4-week orientation program, mentors and computers among other perks. Thirty prospective freshmen were offered the scholarship including Brittany Amano of Honolulu, Hawaii who attended the boarding school Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, Neil Rogers from Alliance, Ohio and Sujeiry Jimenez, a scholar from the small town of Verona, Missouri.

“I want to work to change the fact that only three percent of foster youth graduate from a 4-year college and show others in my position that even when all of the odds are stacked against you, there are still incredible people like the Washington Duke Scholars Foundation who believe in your potential,” Amano said.

She noted that she wants to create branches of a weekend food bag program in Durham and start a mentoring program for children in North Carolina’s child welfare system during her time at Duke.

Both Amano and Jimenez are the daughters of immigrants—Amano’s mother is Japanese and Jimenez’s parents are Mexican. Rogers’ parents were both born and raised in Ohio, he said.

However, Amano explained that she did not spend all of her childhood with her family.

“I bounced between my single mom, grandmother and multiple foster homes growing up as a foster kid,” she said.

Now, Amano has created two nonprofit organizations called Hawaii’s Future Isn’t Hungry—whose mission is to support youths living in homeless shelters, feed nutritious meals to the hungry and promote literacy—and Teens Stopping Domestic Violence. She also works with several non-profit organizations and food banks, including the YMCA, Federal Emergency Management Agency’s national youth council and Leahi Hospital, a nursing home that helps patients receive quality medical care. 

In addition, she is the winner of the LEAD360 contest, which identifies the most innovative ideas of young people in improving global problems, and she has spoken at the White House.

Amano, Rogers and Jimenez said they all want to work in the public sector. After potentially majoring in economics and public policy and earning the certificate in markets and management, Amano noted that she hopes to run for public office in Hawaii one day.

Rogers said he intends to double major as well in Spanish and linguistics.

“My absolute dream job is to be a foreign diplomat,” Rogers said. “I want to work for the [United Nations], and I hope that my language skills and writing could benefit me greatly.”

Jimenez explained that she wants to major in global health and then work with impoverished children around the world.

Despite voicing concerns about spending significant chunks of time away from home, the scholars said they are excited to take advantage of Duke’s numerous resources. Amano will be participating in the ethics, leadership, and global citizenship focus group this Fall and will also attempt to walk on to the women’s rowing team.

“I’m extremely excited to get out of this cold, drab state and head to the bright and vibrant campus that has been my dream college since I began high school,” Rogers said, noting how excited he is to meet the other scholars.

Jimenez said that she would like to participate in DukeEngage as well as Bass Connections during her four years at Duke.

In their free time, the three scholars share several overlapping interests such as reading. They all mentioned a love for the outdoors as well, and Amano—having grown up on a tropical island—mentioned how much she enjoys the ocean. Rogers and Jimenez noted that they like to fish.

“I like to write short poems whenever I feel compelled to do so,” Rogers said. “There’s also something about mowing the lawn that just seems soothing to me.”